Never underestimate the power of words

Genesis 11; Matthew 10; Ezra 10; Acts 10

An odd thing about sin is it can unite people, not to do good but to carry out evil plans. Gangs, underworld groups, some politicians, even bullies on the playground will get together to carry out their intentions. It began early in human history in a plain in the land of Shinar.

Then the people said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” (Genesis 11:4–7)

God knew their intentions were anti-God and sinful. They were supposed to fill the earth (Genesis 9:1) He also knew what to do about their sin. What the people considered their greatest strength — unity — He swiftly destroyed by confusing their language. What they considered their greatest fear — scattering — happened naturally to them. What they desired most — to make a name for themselves — ironically came to pass, for they became known as “Babel” — the word means confusion. This judgment shows up even in today’s news, not just in that area but throughout the world as confusion seems to reign.

In Ezra’s time, the people of God fell under judgment too. They had intermarried with pagans which God had forbidden. However, they had a different response to their sin than those in Shinar; they repented (Ezra 10:1) We all sin and fall short of the glory of God. Forgiveness is there, but like any gift, it must be received. The people in Ezra’s time reversed their behavior and God blessed them.

Much later, the Word of God, His very language, became flesh. Words and language gave us the good news: faith in Jesus Christ reverses the curse on sin. It no longer needs to unite people against God and divide people against one another. Here are the words of Jesus as He sent His disciples to tell others of God’s plan:

“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 10:16–22)

Right away, the early church experienced a reversal of Babel when the Word gave His followers the ability to speak in tongues or other languages so that thousands of visitors to Jerusalem could understand the Gospel. He gave Peter words to say that united listeners as they put their faith in Him. Peter spoke to Jews and Gentiles and God blessed his words that told how, “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.”

Peter explained Jesus’ death and resurrection and the good news, “And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” (Acts 10:34–43)

Language and words have the power to unite or divide. Proverbs 18:21 says that death and life are in the power of the tongue. Sinful, toxic words can unite people against God and divide them against one another. God’s words can unite people in Christ even as they separate us from sin. All this is His gentle reminder: Elsie, put away crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. (Proverbs 4:24) How I talk marks whether I live in Christ who is the Word of God — or in confusion along with others on the plains of Shinar.

It is a new day, every day . . .

Often after a church service I’ve heard people say, “That message was just for me.”

I’ve often felt the same way. This is the power of the Word of God. It is fresh every morning, fresh to each of God’s children. He spoke it when His words were first recorded, and He continues to speak through it when His Word is faithfully expressed.

This is a ‘living’ book. While I can learn intellectually by rereading some books, there is nothing like the Bible to minister to my spirit. Yet there is a qualifier before anyone picks it up . . .

“And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.” (1 Thessalonians 2:13)

The Spirit of God opens eyes and minds so that God’s people can see what He is doing and hear what He wants to say, not only to the world in general but to each of us in particular. Besides that, what He says is pertinent to our personal situations. He gives answers to questions, comfort in sorrow, explanations to perplexities, encouragement to the discouraged . . .

“The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.” (Psalm 19:7–11)

However, Scripture and the Spirit of God does not do this for those who think the Bible is an outdated old book written by men from another time and another culture. Those who think God has moved, changed, or aged, and anyone that does not believe in Jesus Christ do not hear God speak through Scripture or in any other way. Without the relationship of salvation by grace through faith, the Word is just words.

Tozer says that nothing is dated in the Bible. Instead he senses that it belongs to him. Even though the Holy Spirit inspired the people who wrote the words, He “made them so universally applicable that every Christian who reads them today in any part of the world, in any language or dialect, forgets that they were written to someone else and says, ‘This was addressed to me. The Holy Spirit had me in mind. This is not antiquated and dated. This is the living Truth for me—now!’”

This makes God’s Word fresh every day, relevant to every situation. He speaks every day and what He says guides my life. Faith in Him is not only precious — it is practical!

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Jesus, today appears to be an ordinary day, yet You are not ordinary and having You in my life makes each day special, often an adventure. This adventure is heightened by hearing You speak, by being reminded that Your steadfast love never ceases; Your mercies never come to an end — “They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, therefore I will hope in You.” (Lamentations 3:22–24)

Death and fiction — life and reality

“The Book Thief” spins a yarn of a foster child living in Nazi Germany during the worst time in their history. The narrator is Death who delivers human souls to eternity. The girl learns to read, steals books, and shares them with the needy people around her. It is fascinating, fiction at its best.

Another story in Ezekiel is also fascinating, but not fiction. The prophet was given a vision — a valley full of dead bones. As he gazes on it, God tells him:

“And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, Thus have you said: ‘Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we rot away because of them. How then can we live?’ Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?” (Ezekiel 33:10–11)

God’s directive to declare His Word to the people continues, and as He speaks, Ezekiel must feel dismayed. Finally, the Lord says to him, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” (Ezekiel 37:3)

Well-known preacher, Charles Spurgeon said, “We cannot turn the dry bones into living men, but we can prophesy upon them, and, blessed be God, we can also prophesy to the four winds, and by our means the dead may live.”

Today’s devotional says, “Even so, we cannot give dead sinners life. Eternal life and faith in Christ are gifts of divine grace created in the hearts of men by the sovereign power of God.” He is right. Only God can give life to dry bones, yet He rarely thunders that good news from Heaven. Instead, the Lord calls His people to tell people about the way of life.

I shiver thinking of Death in the book, not that this strange narrator causes the end of life, but is there when it comes to gently gather souls and pass them to their next destination. Will the story speak of eternal life with Christ? If not, a great opportunity will be missed to give comfort to the living, to those taken up with a fascinating story and view of how it is to die.

Certainly, only those who know the way of eternal life can share Gospel truth with others. Even the most imaginative writers would not conjure up a valley of dead bones receiving flesh and breath and life — without calling it fiction. Yet what happened to Ezekiel is the power of God. In the fiction story, the stolen books give hope. In reality, the living Word of God gives faith and offers life.

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Jesus, stories like “The Book Thief” fascinate readers. However, Your story does what no other can do; it gives eternal hope, faith that comes from hearing it, and the offer of forgiveness and eternal life to all who are ready and willing to listen to it. Again, I marvel that You opened my eyes and ears, that You still speak to me through this Book called the Bible using the power of the Holy Spirit. You opened my heart with Your words, You continue to bless me as I read it. May You also continue to give me opportunities to tell others what it says, that they also might find in it the reality of eternal life with You.